Combined pallet and crate structure



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comaman PALLET AND CRATE STRUCTURE Filed Feb. is, 1947 a sheet -sheet 1has y 4, 1950 B. c. con, JR 2,513,452

COMBINED PALLET 'AND CRATE STRUCTURE July 4, 1950 B. c. con', JR2,513,452

COMBINED PALLET AND cRATE STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 18, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 33w gYWQ/WM & (BURTON C. COITiJR.

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COMBINED PALLET AND CRATE STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 18, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 4IN V EN TOR. Boer-0N C. C017; Je.

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comamsn PALLET AND cam: STRUCTURE Filed FQb. 18, 19,47 6 Sheets-Sheet 5F-V- TQ FOLD 29 32 I 42 2a awe/who'll 50/? 70v C. C01 7; J2.

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COMBINED PALLET AND CRATE STRUCTURE Filed Fab. 18, 1947 1 v sSheets-Sheet s TO/FOLD warm/C1601: Je.

Patented July 4, 1950 UNITED ST TES PATENT, OFFICE cosmnmn PALLET ANDcaa'm s'rauc'ruaa Burton 0. Colt, In, Washington, Pa., ,assignor toTri-State Engineering Company, Washingto Pa., a corporation of MarylandApplication February 18, 1947, Serial No. 729,315-

This invention relates topalletsorportable' platforms such as those usedin the stacking and handling of articles such as packages, and. more vparticularly to the provision of a crate-like structure in conjunctionwith a pallet deck. The application comprises an improvement upon and amodification of my application Serial No.

126,687. died February 5, 1947 (now Patent One object of my invention isto provide a combined pallet and crate structure wherein the side andend walls of the crate can readily be connected to and disconnectedi'romthe deck of 4-Claims. (01. 248-120) the pallet and which walls areconveniently foldable or collapsible when removed from the pallet,

for convenience of storing and shipping in an v empty condition. jAnother object of my invention is to provide an. arrangement of thecharacter referred to in the preceding paragraph wherein the toldablewalls are firmly held against relative displace-' ment, when in use, andthe? provision of an iming bent back at 22 and welded to the deck bars 1and the adjacent legs.

At desired intervals, floor plates 23 extend crosswise of the palletstructure and are welded to the floor bars ii.

The structure as thus tar-described, can be used without crate walls, inthe manner of ordinary pallets that-are lifted, transported and provedmeans .io'r preventing relativefshiiting Y of eachpallet and crate unitwhen in superposed or stackedrelation to another unit, and

froman upper pallet to the cratewalls'ot another pallet upon which' thefirst-named pallet is stacked.

Some of the iormswhich my invention may take areshown in theaccompanying drawings wherein Figure l is a side view of a pallet'and Iwherein there is adequate distribution'of weight crate 'unit embodyingmy invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is an end view'ofthe structure of Fig. l;- Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view, partlyinsection, of an upper corner por- .tion' 0! the structure of Fig. 1showing the manper in which a pallet is stacked upon the crate walls ofanother pallet; Fig. 5 is an end view of the structure of Fig. '4; Fig.'6 is a plan view showing the hinge-like connection of the panels of theend walls oi Figs/2 and 3; Fig. '7 Ban end elevational view thereof;Fig. 8 shows the panels of Figs. 6 and '7 folded upon one another; Fig.9 is a sectional plan view showing a modification menta'ry facevlew'thereot; Figs. '11 and 12 are plan viewsirespectivelyshowing thepanel elements of Fig. 9 in disassembled relation; Fig. 13 shows one ofthe hooks for detachably holding the crate walls'oi Figs. 1 and sinplace on the pallet deck, on'anenlarged scale,;and- Fig.-14

is axview on a. greatly reduced scale showing;

,the cratewalls of l and'3lin ioldedor col- 3 psed condition when theyhave been removed ll the end panels against being pushed inwardly.

mm the pallet'deck.

jot thehinge joint of Pig. 6; Fig. 10 is a Iragstacked by trucks 0! thelitttork type.

The crate has side walls here shown as comprisinglongitudinally-extending wires or rodsv 2| welded tovertically-extending wires 2!. The end walls of the crate comprisepanels 21 and 2|. The panel 21 is termed of vertical wires 2! welded tohorizontal wires 3| while the panel 2| has its vertical wires 3| weldedto horizontal,

wires 32.

At the corners oi the crate, the panels 21-20 are pivotally connected tothe side walls of the so crate, by spiral wires a to permit oi! foldingthe crate-when it has been removed from the deck.

When the walls of the crate are in place upon the deck, they arereleasably held thereon against vertical and horizontal displacement byhooks 34 (Fig. 13) that arewelded to the lower wires of the cratewallsand extend beneath marginal deck wires at the sides and ends oithestructure. as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 3. When the verticalwalls'of the crate are partly collapsed or contracted ashereinafterexplained, the hooks will be drawn from engagement with thedeck rods andthe crate can then'be lifted from the deck.

' Atveach upper corner of the crate, a plate It has hinge connectionswith the adjacentv side wall of thecrate by means of knuckles 31 on theplate which embrace the uppermost wires 2" as shown morecl'early inFigs. 4 and 5.- Each plate has a pair of down-turned flanges 3t and 30.-

When'the plates are in horizontal position, their 'fiangesil lieagainst'the faces of the end panels 21-141. and thereby hold said panelsagainst ing pushed. outwardly under the thrust of packages orv the likethat are contained within the plate. The diagonally-extending flanges ahold tween the legs I9 and the floor bars 2| at the lower corner of eachpallet.

The panels 21-28 at each end of the crate are pivotally connected by aspiral hinge element 42 that embraces adjacent vertical rods 29 and 3|of the panels, so that the panels can be folded upon one another asshown in Fig. 7.

When it is desired to remove the crate from the pallet deck, the plates26 will be swung upwardly to permit the end panels to be pushed inwardlyat their hinge joint 42 which movements shifts their hooks 34 fromengagement with the end rods of the deck, and the other hooks 34 willthen be drawn inwardly from engagement with the longitudinal marginalrods of the deck. The crate can then be folded as shown schematically inFig. 14,-for storage or shipment.

In Figs. 9 to 12, I show another form of hinge connection between theend panels of the crate, this arrangement being substituted for thespiral hinge member &2. In this arrangement, the horizontally-extendingwires 44 of one end panel are bent at their ends and have welded theretoa vertical rod 45, while the horizontal wires 46, of the other panel hasa vertical rod 41 welded thereto, thus providing a hinge joint whichwill permitfoldingof the and panels upon one another inthe manner shownin Fig. 14. In

assembling the structure, either the rod 45 or the rod 4! is omitteduntil after the wires-46 have been placed in their interspersedrelation. Thereupon, the rod 45 or the rod as the case maybe will bewelded to its associated horizontal wires.

I claimas my invention:

1. A combined pallet and crate structure comprising a pallet having adeck with verticallyextending openings, vertical crate walls adapted torest upon the deck, connecting elements on the crate walls projectingdownwardly into said openingsand having laterally-turned hooks extendinginto said openings and beneath a portion of the deck, the crate wallsbeing hingedly connected at their'corners and the end walls of to restupon the,deck, connecting elements on the crate walls projectingdownwardly into said openings and having laterally-turned hooksextending into said openingand beneath a portion of the deck, the cratewalls being hingedly connected at their adjacent vertical edges, andmeans adjacent to the upper edgesof the walls, for releasably holdingsaid panels against swinging movement relative to the side walls of thecrate,

the said hooks being disengageable from the pallet deck through releaseof the panels and movement thereof toward a folded position, the saidreleasable holding means comprising plates positioned at the upper edgesof the crate sides, movable to and from horizontal positions andprovided with interlocking elements positioned to prevent relativepivotal movements of the panels and the crate walls, when the plates arein horizontal position.

3. A combined pallet and crate structure comprising a pallet having adeck with verticallyextending openings, vertical crate walls adapted torest upon the deck, connecting elements on the crate walls projectingdownwardly into said openings and having laterally-turned hooksextending into said openings and beneath a portion'of the deck, thecrate walls being hingedly connected at their corners and the end wallsof the crate each comprising vertically-divided panels that are hingedlyconnected at their adjacent vertical edges, and means adjacent totheupper edges of the walls, for releasably holding said panels againstswinging movement relative to the side walls of the crate, the saidhooks being disengageable from the pallet deck through release of thepanels and movement thereof toward a folded positioned to preventrelative pivotal movements of the panels and the crate walls, when theplates are in horizontal position and to cooperatewith the said hooks inresisting horizontal displacement of the crate walls when they areassembled on a deck. v h

4. A combined pallet and crate structure comprising a palletmemberhaving a deck, a crate member having vertical walls supported bythe deck, the crate walls being hingedly connected at their corners,means adjacent to the upper edges of the walls, at the corners of thecrate, for re leasably holding the walls against swinging movementrelative to one another, and means for holding the crate member againstshifting movement on the pallet member, the last named means comprisingvertically-extending hooks carried by one of said members and havinglaterally-turned ends extending into openings in the other member.

BURTON C. COIT, JR.

file of this patent:

UNITED sTA'rns PATENTS Number Name Date 923,725 Sterrett June 1, 1909963,769 Johnson et al July 12, 1910 1,180,294 Hunter Aug. 25, 19161,543,268 Thieme June 23, 1925 1,620,585 Walther e Mar. 8, 19271,626,009 Murray Apr. 26, 1927 1,755,725 Clark et al. 1 Apr. 22, 19301,881,822 McKelligon Oct. 11, 1932 2,154,599 Beckwith Apr. 18, 19392,175,890 Harrison Oct. 10, 1939 2,420,640 Acteson May 20, 1947 FOREIGNPATENTS Number I Country Date France June 4, 1936

